If you have a working document camera in your classroom, you’re hopefully already using it on a daily basis. It’s a valuable tool to cut down on the need to make copies and present material to students. But did you know there are many other ways in which your document camera can be used to facilitate learning in the classroom? We selected several of our favorite creative uses for document cameras and shared them below!
Show Pictures During Story Time
For early childhood teachers who read picture books aloud to the class, it can be frustrating when you hold up the book and students sitting further back are unable to see the pictures. Use your document camera to project the images on each page as you read to your students. Now students can feel immersed in the story from any seat or spot in the classroom!
Show Small Increments and Fractions on a Ruler
Have you ever tried to show young learners what a millimeter looks like on a ruler? It’s not always easy to show small increments and tiny fraction marks on a ruler without walking around and physically pointing them out to each student in the class. Even if they each have their own ruler for reference, it can be difficult for them to follow along to an explanation without a visual guide. With a document camera, you can project a large image of a ruler onto a screen and point out each notch on the ruler.
Demonstrate Calculator Functions
This can be useful for teachers at any grade level but is especially useful for teaching advanced math classes in middle and high school. A document camera can be used to demonstrate various calculator functions to your students—especially those found on scientific and graphing calculators. From graphing and functions to derivatives and everything in between, you can use your document camera to demonstrate how to use the calculator properly.
Keep Everybody on the Same Page
Tell me if you’ve heard this one before: “Teacher, what page are we on?”
As you read with your class, keep the page numbers of the book projected on your document camera so students can stay on track without having to interrupt the class. You can also use your document camera to point out specific charts or figures on a page.
These are just a few creative uses for a document camera, but there are dozens more that could come in handy in the classroom. What other ways do you use this unique piece of technology? We’d love to see your ideas below!
